Stilt for artisans



April 29, 1958 G. H. AlLEY STILT FOR ARTISANS Filed Oct. 9, 1956 INVENTOR.

GEORGE H.BAILEY AT TO R N EYS United States Patent STILT FOR ARTISANS George H. Bailey, Seattle, Wash.

Application October 9, 1956, Serial No. 614,863

2 Claims. (Cl. 3--4) The present invention relates to an improved stilt for painters and other construction artisans required to reach ceilings and wall areas adjacent thereto which are beyond their reach when standing at the floor level.

The invention aims to provide an improved such stilt of light weight which will give a rigid platform adjustable in height, which will firmly grip the users foot and shin, and which will give unusually good leg support restraining backward leg movement from the vertical while at the same time permitting easy forward ankle fiexure.

With the foregoing objects and advantages in view, and which will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consists in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved stilt in operative position with a foot shown in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the stilt.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the stilt.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the pivotal connection between the puttee and the step taken as indicated by the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken as indicated by the line 55 of Fig. l and showing the telescopic adjustment of one of the risers; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional detail through the tread taken as shown by the line 66 of Fig. 2.

My improved stilt is designed to be worn by either leg and. hence only a single stilt is illustrated.

Referring to the drawings it is seen that the stilt has an elongated base plate 10 which is curved upwardly at its ends. A tread piece 11 of rubber or the like having laterally extending anti-skid ribs 11a is cemented to the underside of the base plate, and rigidly mounted on the top of the latter adjacent its curved ends are the lower components 12a, 13a of a pair of telescopic stilt legs or risers 12, 13. The upper components 12b, 13b of these risers carry a step 14 which directly overlies the base plate 10. It will be noted that the upper riser components each have a set of height adjustment holes 15 for selective alignment with a hole 16 near the top of the respective lower riser component. A bolt 17 with a Wing nut is provided for holding each riser in adjusted position.

The step 14 may be of uniform width from the toe aft about half of its length and then desirably gradually narrows until it is approximately half toe width at the heel. Slightly heelward of the front riser 11 there is provided a buckled toe strap 19 which passes beneath the step 14 whereat it is preferably secured thereto as by riveting to keep the toe strap in a fixed position. Complementing this toe strap is a puttee taking the form of a rigid rearwardly arched puttee plate 20 having two piece ankle and shin straps 21, 22. For pivotally mounting the puttee plate the step provides a pair of upstanding apertured lugs 23 at its opposite sides and slightly forward of the rear riser 13. The puttee plate is also apertured at opposite sides near its lower front corners and has a width at the mouth of its arch which corresponds to the outside spacing of the lugs 23. Pivot pins 24 passing through the apertures in the lugs and puttee plate serve to hinge the latter with respect to the step. In this regard, it should be particularly noted that when the puttee is upright its lower back edge comes to rest against the step so that the puttee is thereby prevented from rearward pivotal movement. The ankle and shin straps 21, 22 are riveted at their ends to the puttee plate and desirably thread through pads 25, 26, the buckles 21a, 22a and the buckle 19a of the toe strap desirably being located on one side of the stilt.

My stilt is desirably fabricated from aluminum or some other light and durable material. The manner of securing the stilt to the users leg by use of the toe, ankle, and shin straps is thought to be self-evident from an examination of Fig. 1. In this view it can be seen that the puttee plate 2th gives excellent leg support restraining backward movement while at the same time permitting forward ankle flexure due to the pivotal connections 23 between the puttee and the step 14. The upward curve at the ends of the base plate 10 permit natural forward and rear steps to be taken while the ribbed tread piece 11 retards slipping.

It is thought that the invention and the manner of its usage will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of the illustrated preferred embodiment. Minor changes will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore it is my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim, is:

1. A stilt comprising, an elongated base plate curved upwardly at its ends and having a tread on its underside, a pair of telescopic riser units mounted by their lower ends on said plate at opposite ends thereof, a step mounted on the upper ends of said riser units and having toe and heel ends, a longitudinally rigid and laterally arched puttee pivotally mounted for forward swinging movement at its lower end at the rear of the step with the arch of the puttee facing forwardly and the pivots being located near the front edges of the puttee so that the back of the puttee engages the step as the stop when the puttee is upright, a toe strap carried by the step, and ankle and shin straps carried by the puttee.

2. A stilt comprising, a base plate,v a pair of risers mounted by their lower ends on said plate at opposite ends thereof, a step mounted on the upper ends of said riser units and having toe and heel ends, and a longitudinally rigid and laterally arched puttee pivotally mounted for forward swinging movement at its lower end at the rear of the step with the arch of the puttee facing forwardly References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 241,226 Landis May 10, 1881 1,613,535 Root Jan. 4, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 353,615 Germany May 20, 1922 

